Theosophical Encyclopedia

Historical Photos from the Adyar Archives Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa

Details: Published: Sunday, 24 November 2019 09:47

Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa (16 December 1875 – 18 June 1953), was a Sri Lankan scholar, lecturer, and writer who served as the fourth President of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India from 1945 to 1953. An accomplished linguist, he traveled extensively for fifty years as an international lecturer, speaking in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as Sinhalese and Tamil. He was known to his wide circle of friends as "Raja", "Brother Raja", or "CJ".

Lords of The Dark Face

Details: Published: Thursday, 14 November 2019 05:12

Evil sorcerers of the Atlantean period mentioned in the The Secret Doctrine and works of Charles W. Leadbeater who were destroyed by the Lords of the Dazzling Face (Adepts of White Magic) and the Lords of the Fires (Gnomes and fire elementals). They used air-vehicles called Viwans, said by Helena P. Blavatsky to be like air balloons.

Non-Being

Details: Published: Thursday, 07 November 2019 05:00

Non-Being is, paradoxically, regarded in theosophy and Advaita as Absolute Being or Be-ness.

Avīchi

Details: Published: Tuesday, 29 October 2019 12:02

A Sanskrit term (lit. “waveless”), usually transliterated avīci, referring to a state of the greatest isolation, perhaps the conscious equivalent of absolute zero, and attained after physical death by a person who has been unrelentingly selfish and devoted to inflicting injury on others, therefore is a state devoid of spirituality, the result of a life of absolute evil. In Buddhist literature, it is the lowest Hell, immediately below one called Nirarbuda (“excessively cold”).

Brothers of the Shadow

Details: Published: Friday, 18 October 2019 16:07

Refers to those who in their occult practices concern themselves almost entirely with the material forces in Nature. The term is often applied to the so-called “Black Magicians” or “Sorcerers.”

Pantheism

Details: Published: Friday, 04 October 2019 05:43

From the Greek pan- meaning “involving all” and théisme meaning “pertaining to the divine.” It is a doctrine that equates God with all the matter and forces of the universe, but not transcending them. In that sense it is closely associated with monism, the doctrine that there is only one reality in the universe, usually conceived in spiritual terms (although atheistic materialism is also a kind of monism).

A New Occasional Paper

Details: Published: Tuesday, 24 September 2019 14:12

Theosophical History Occasional Papers: Vol. XV: Revisiting Visionary Utopia: Katherine Tingley’s Lomaland 1898-1942: Exhibit and Archive Overview

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Lomaland

A new volume of Theosophical History Occasional Papers will be devoted to an overview of the Lomaland Community Theosophy exhibit held at the Special Collections Library at San Diego State University. The exhibit, Revisiting Visionary Utopia: Katherine Tingley’s Lomaland 1898–1942, has been ongoing since 2017, and will continue until 2020.

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Lomaland garden

The co-curators, Kenneth Small and Robert Ray, have assembled an extensive collection that includes original material from Emmett and Carmen Small (Mr. Small’s parents), Iverson and Helen Harris, Gordon Plummer, Marian Lester and other Lomaland residents. Original artwork by Lomaland resident artists, notably Reginald Machell, Edith White, Marian Lester, and Leonard Lester are featured. Documents from Theosophical luminaries, including co-founders Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) and William Q. Judge (1851–1896) and Lomaland Leaders Katherine Tingley (1847–1929) and G. de Purucker (1874–1942) will be included.

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Lomaland, Roja Yoga Academy

The exhibit includes memorabilia from drama, art, music and literature produced at Lomaland, residents’ letters and diaries, exhibit overviews of the community through photos and graphic art displays, recordings of Lomaland residents’ historical reflections and presentations on Theosophy and much more. Also, unique art works by Lomaland artists generously loaned from the San Diego History Center are displayed. A comprehensive finding aid is in process of being developed to make the exhibit accessible for students and scholars to study, with access to a comprehensive digital database.

The publication of the volume is planned for November 2019. It will contain a number of archival photos, documents, and letters from the Point Loma archives and selected examples of artwork by its members. The length will be approximately125 pages.

Publication will be in print form only. For information, please contact:

Dr. James Santucci

Department of Religious Studies

P.O. Box 6868

California State University

Fullerton, CA 92834-6868

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.